| NGC 3729 | |
|---|---|
| NGC 3729 is the galaxy on the right. NGC 3718 is on the left side. Near the top of NGC 3718, Hickson Compact Group 56 can be spotted | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major [1] |
| Right ascension | 11h 33m 49.3s [2] |
| Declination | 53° 07′ 32″ [2] |
| Redshift | 1,060±1 km/s [2] |
| Distance | 65.7 ± 4.8 Mly (20.1 ± 1.5 Mpc) [2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.0 [3] or 11.4 [1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(r)a pec [2] |
| Apparent size (V) | 2.9′ × 1.9′ [1] |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 3729, UGC 6547, MCG +09-19-117, PGC 35711, CGCG 268-051 [2] | |
NGC 3729 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. [1] It is located at a distance of circa 66 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3729 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1789. [4]
NGC 3729 has a bright nucleus embedded in a bar which measures 0.5 x 0.1 arcminutes. At the end of the bar lies a ring with knots. The outer part of the galaxy is formed by an asymmetric faint nebulosity with condensations. [5] It is possible that the condensation is a disturbed satellite galaxy. [6] In the centre of NGC 3729 is predicted to lie an intermediate-mass black hole, whose mass is estimated to be between 4 and 400 thousands M☉ (104.6 ± 1.0M☉) based on Ks-band bulge luminosity. [7] The galaxy has an inner ring which emits in far ultraviolet and H-alpha, which are considered to be markers of recent star formation activity. [8]
NGC 3729 is member of the M109 Group [9] which is part of the south Ursa Major groups, part of the Virgo Supercluster. [10] It forms a pair with NGC 3718, which lies 11.5 arcminutes to the west. [5] It is possible the two galaxies interacted in the past. [11]
Although no supernovae have been observed in NGC 3729 yet, a luminous red nova, designated AT 2018hso (type LRN, mag. 19.41), was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 31 October 2018. [12]